I just returned from a hurried flight to New York due to a family medical emergency. I flew out of Tampa on Delta on a typical plane leaving the airport non-stop. Coming back we flew on US Airways and expected the same type of aircraft. When I arrived at the airport yesterday morning I found that the first leg of the trip to Florida was on a plane run by Air Wisconsin. It was a plane with four seats across and 14 rows and the typical carry on luggage did not fit in the overhead racks. The last leg was on a "normal" plane.
So here is my question to you, do you as an organization set up the environment for expectations on the part of your current and new hires as to what they think they are going to receive from your organization? In reality does the expectation meet what really happens?
We continually hear corporate management talking about the lack of commitment from the talent they hire. Have they stopped to consider that the message sent to the employees is I know what you expect but this is what really is going to happen.
Dictionary. com tells us that the word expectation can be defined as the act or the state of expecting, or the act or state of looking forward or anticipating or a mental attitude. So here is what happens, We interview that great candidate and essentially sell them a bill of goods and then they join the organization. One of the first things likely to happen is that some current employee gets into a casual conversation with your new hire and they talk about the workplace environment and the current employee tells the new hire that the promises made to them in the hiring process are just that promises with no teeth. So how does that new hire feel. I would bet pretty much like my thoughts when I boarded that puddle jumper" at 8:30 am yesterday.
We look at the average length of employment of the Generation Y and it runs somewhere around 18 months. The primary reason is that what they were told by the organization is not what they find when they start. It is imperative that the organizations begin to identify the discourse between the two messages. We need organizations that are comprised of dedicated human capital to achieve the things our organizations need and just as important what the talent needs. The lack of achievement is what brings about the many internal human capital problems we see.
I am currently reading Liker's Toyota Culture in which he stresses the involvement of the entire organization to encompass every employee and put them on an even playing field with every other employee including management. They talk about the Kentucky plant where there s no corner office or executive dining room. The workplace is organized around cross-functional teams which are designed to problem solve. The solutions are shared with the entire organization. There is no such thing as departmental competition.
As a consultant if I was hired to advise your management team on how to improve the workplace environment, my message would be simple and precise. It is one thing to try and tell a potential candidate how great your organization is. It is a totally different thing to tell the employee that this is the organizational world in such terms as to raise their expectations to a level where they are designed to fail. Unless you as an organization are determined to not create incorrect expectations on the role of the human capital assets within the business. Make the decision which road you are going to take before you begin the interview process.
Remember that the employee's view of the world is to them reality. Are you going to meet their view or continue to provide false promises? Your call. Your decision. Define the state of your workplace.
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